With a plethora of new mirror-less systems hitting the market over the last year it is no surprise that the obvious way forward was a larger sensor. The new Samsung NX10 has just that, an APS-C sized CMOS sensor thus giving it the edge in low light; the first camera to break the mould and yet retain consistency and an understanding that can be transferred from a conventional DSLR.
No more than 4cm deep, the body of this camera is the definition of the words ‘portable’ and ‘functional’, providing all the functionality and quality of a conventional DSLR but at almost half the size. Teaming the NX10 with the Samsung 30mm Pancake lens will provide you with sharp images but, crucially, not joint pain! This camera tips the scales at just 353g (without battery, card or lens) finally allowing you to comfortably carry a camera round your neck safe in the knowledge you won’t miss that vital shot due to your camera not being accessible.
Three lenses are available at time of writing, the previously mentioned Pancake lens and two familiar focal length zooms, 18-55mm and 55-200mm. My personal preference is the 30mm Pancake thanks to its circular aperture diaphragm providing sharp, shallow depth of field images with a pleasant circular bokeh capable of being printed upwards of A2 thanks to the 14.6 megapixel resolution.
Samsung is proudly promoting their AMOLED 3.0” screen that has outstanding resilience to bright sunlight, providing fantastic dynamic range and a contrast ratio of 10,000:1, with a refresh rate 3,000 times faster than a conventional LCD. This will ultimately assist you whilst out shooting, proving accurate replication of your images instantly allowing you to assess their merits or imperfections. This is further enhanced by the addition of an electronic viewfinder with 100% coverage, making this camera fully functional in all scenarios.
With the ability to shoot manually this camera could be a direct replacement for your conventional DLSR but thankfully if you have no experience in SLR-based photography Samsung have catered for all needs. The camera is packed with a vast array of smart functions to assist you in capturing those unforgettable moments. Smart Album, Smart Auto, Smart Range, Perfect Portrait System and Picture Wizard, cover you from capture to print.
Smart Album can assist you in the organisation of files, Smart Auto will apply the correct capture settings, and Smart Range is there to assist you in obtaining the difficult high contrast areas within the image. Samsung’s Perfect Portrait System combines several useful features as titled, giving you the perfect portrait. Using blink, smile and face detection combined with red eye fix, the camera can also offer self portrait assistance. Finally you have the option to use the Beauty Shot enhancement for perfect skin tone exposure with some years taken off for good measure! After all of that if you felt the need to manipulate your images any further there is Picture Wizard allowing modifications to colour, saturation, sharpness and contrast.
